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Congress leader Siddaramaiah resigned as Karnataka Chief Minister after a key government meeting in Bengaluru.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has reportedly informed his cabinet colleagues that he will step down after lunch. The breakfast meeting, held Thursday morning, was also attended by Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

BENGALURU: D K Shivakumar's push to succeed Siddaramaiah gathered momentum after Priyanka Gandhi Vadra intervened, sources said. Shivakumar, despite multiple visits to the national capital in recent months, struggled to get Rahul's ear on the reported arrangement under which he was expected to take over as CM midway through the govt's tenure, sources said.

The Karnataka leadership transition debate has now taken a sharp OBC politics turn, with BJP leader and former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai accusing the Congress of undermining its own social justice narrative by potentially replacing Siddaramaiah, one of the party's tallest OBC leaders. Bommai questioned Rahul Gandhi's commitment to backward class politics, arguing that removing Siddaramaiah midway through his term would damage both the Congress's credibility and the broader INDIA alliance's OBC outreach. The BJP has now begun aggressively framing the possible leadership change as a contradiction to Rahul Gandhi's repeated emphasis on social justice and backward class representation. Congress insiders, meanwhile, are attempting to carefully manage the transition optics, aware that Siddaramaiah's AHINDA coalition of backward classes, Dalits and minorities remains politically crucial in Karnataka.

The development came after Siddaramaiah stepped down from the post following directions from the Congress high command.

Siddaramaiah has also reportedly sought cabinet representation for his loyalists and pushed for a deputy chief minister's post for his camp.

Earlier in the day, Shivakumar met the Governor to informally discuss the swearing-in of the new CM and council of Ministers, as the latter is expected to leave for Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada district later in the day to attend Vice President's event there on Sunday.

BENGALURU: As speculation over a possible leadership change in Karnataka gathered pace over the last few days, social media quickly transformed into a battleground of fandom, nostalgia and political "aura farming."

DK Shivakumar challenges: The new administration faces challenges on many fronts: political, administrative, and economic. These include balancing regional and caste equations in the new cabinet, continuing welfare schemes amid financial pressure, and resolving the politically sensitive Mekedatu reservoir issue.

The astrologer also forecast that Shivakumar would continue to play a dominant political role in Karnataka and return to power after the 2028 Assembly elections.